Make One Critical Observation between Shakespeare & Sting

Posted on October 9, 2019 by Bill Sullivan

What is happening in the Sting song, “Consider Me Gone”? In five to seven sentences of Standard English, create a critical observation about Sting’s lyrics. Be sure to supply at least one word, phrase, or line of textual evidence to support your point.

Consider Me Gone, lyrics by Sting

There were rooms of forgiveness
In the house that we share
But the space has been emptied
Of whatever was there
There were cupboards of patience
There were shelfloads of care
But whoever came calling
Found nobody there

After today, consider me gone

Roses have thorns, and shining waters mud
And cancer lurks deep in the sweetest bud
Clouds and eclipses stain the moon and the sun
[From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/s/sting-lyrics/consider-me-gone-lyrics.html ]
And history reeks of the wrongs we have done

After today, consider me gone

I’ve spent too many years at war with myself
The doctor has told me it’s no good for my health
To search for perfection is all very well
But to look for Heaven is to live here in Hell

After today, consider me gone
____________________________

Sonnet 35

No more be grieved at that which thou hast done:
Roses have thorns, and silver fountains mud,
Clouds and eclipses stain both moon and sun,
And loathsome canker lives in sweetest bud.
All men make faults, and even I in this,
Authorizing thy trespass with compare,
Myself corrupting, salving thy amiss,
Excusing thy sins more than thy sins are;
For to thy sensual fault I bring in sense —
Thy adverse party is thy advocate —
And ‘gainst myself a lawful plea commence.
Such civil war is in my love and hate
That I an accessary needs must be
To that sweet thief which sourly robs from me.

About Bill Sullivan

I am an English teacher working with great students at Suffield Academy. I also teach seniors in various project-based learning environments. Some of the #PBL topics included global issues, such as Pandemics, Climate Change, and Water; more recently I have asked students to research and identify topics important to our school community and their generation. We curate these topics with a #StudentCenteredPBL. For the past eleven years, I also created a driving question for a class to research a local history mystery and present their findings in a community program partnering with our local historical society. These topics encompass researching the lives of enslaved individuals who were contributors to the foundation of our community.
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11 Responses to Make One Critical Observation between Shakespeare & Sting

  1. Mikey says:
    October 11, 2019 at 1:13 am

    The lyrics to Sting’s song “Consider Me Gone” suggest very dark things. The speaker seems to be at a very dark point in his or her life. They sound very depressed and hopeless. For example, the speaker describes him or herself as being “at war” with themself. They describe how they “look to Heaven” and they are “in Hell” on Earth. When the speaker says to consider his or herself gone, they are saying that they are already dead inside.

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  2. Jalin Sinclair says:
    October 11, 2019 at 3:43 am

    In the iconic “Consider Me Gone”, Sting begins the lyrics with a tough message to decipher. They state “but the space has been emptied/of whatever was there”. Sting seems to have lost all hope, they know that if they just tried to resolve the issue, that all the answers are right behind the closed doors. They can’t seem to find the point of fixing it all though in reality. This is the breaking point, after that day, there was no looking back.

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  3. Kamal Nader says:
    October 11, 2019 at 5:09 pm

    As Shakespeare is hopeful and looks toward the stars in his pursuit of love, Sting has had his run with love, and he speaks of all the pain chasing love has caused him. Sting talks about what he once had and how overtime it all fades away. “There were rooms of forgiveness In the house that we share But the space has been emptied Of whatever was there”(Sting 1-4). This line is harrowing, and as a reader, it brings sadness into my soul and makes me sympathize on a relatable level for Sting, a man I have never met. Towards the end of Consider Me Gone, Sting speaks of giving up on love so he can love himself and find true happiness within himself and not depend on someone else to provide that happiness for him. “I’ve spent too many years at war with myself The doctor has told me it’s no good for my health”(Sting 16). Sting allows himself peace of mind by reevaluating his life and the pain chasing a healthy, loving relationship has caused him. When Sting says, “After today, consider me gone” in transition between each verse He is detaching himself from the pain his once full-of-life, loving, and cheery relationship has caused him. The line that hit me the hardest from Consider Me Gone is “But to look for Heaven is to live here in Hell”(Sting 18). This statement is so brief but so powerful. In saying this, Sting speaks of how true heaven is after our existence on earth and how a human relationship and heartbreak may make your vision cloudy but cannot take that inevitable journey away.

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  4. Chai Lewgasamsarn says:
    October 11, 2019 at 5:13 pm

    Sting uses similar poetic devices as in Shakespeare’s Sonnet 35. In the second verse, he mentions that “roses have thorns, shining waters mud, and cancer lurks deep in the sweetest bud.” He does this to mention about the story of his life, that no one is reliable even though they seem nice. Shakespeare, however, utilizes the same poetic device, paradox, as in “clouds and eclipses stain both moon and sun,” and “silver fountains mud,” in order to relate to the fact that all men, including the speaker of the poem, make faults. The mood both authors is trying to convey is similar even though they have different objectives.

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  5. marcosecchiaroli6762 says:
    October 11, 2019 at 5:13 pm

    In Sting’s lyrics, the song writer seems to be going through a very tough time. The lyrics throughout the song tell the listeners about how this person is in a constant fight with themselves. The speaker of this song says, “Ive spent too many years at war with myself..” Being in a constant battle with yourself and decisions can cause someone to feel sad or dark. The repetition with in the poem is the same phrase 4 times throughout the song. Overall, I think of this song as a very deep and dark story of this persons life.

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  6. morgan says:
    October 11, 2019 at 5:26 pm

    The lyrics from the song are dark and more pessimistic. The singer says “There were rooms of forgiveness In the house that we share But the space has been emptied Of whatever was there” The song has a very sad lonely tone to it. The sonnet by Shakespeare also has a tone of loneliness. The sonnet says, “And ‘gainst myself a lawful plea commence.
    Such civil war is in my love and hate” There speaker seems to be struggling with love. Both the song and the sonnet have themes of loneliness and struggles with love.

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  7. mitchp5 says:
    October 11, 2019 at 5:31 pm

    Sting and Shakespeare comparison
    “There were cupboards of patience There were shelf-loads of care But whoever came calling Found nobody there.” These lyrics from Sting stick out to me the most. He is saying even though the patience and care is there, nobody is there to receive it. It shows that there is no hope and to consider him gone. Cancer is brought up which displays negativity, and that he is struggling to gain hope for the future. He has been hard on himself over the years and that has taken a toll on him, which he demonstrates in his lyrics. Shakespeare and Sting mention “Roses Have Thorns” and they even both mention the moon and the sun directly after. Sting is reflecting Shakespeare to portray his lyrics as to what is going on in his life.

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  8. Alex Pisacreta says:
    October 12, 2019 at 12:10 am

    This is a very interesting lyrics and sonnet as a lot of it talks about how you shouldn’t try to go for perfection all the time, you gonna make mistakes in life and people are going to try to come at you once you make your mistake, but you gotta just block them out and keep living your life to the fullest. But as the author in “Consider me Gone” by sting it seems he is very depressed as he tries to live his life to perfection and when you do that you going to had a much more stressful life than other people. You have to live with your mistakes and don’t lose hope as there always something at the end of the tunnel.

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  9. Tsenu says:
    October 12, 2019 at 1:33 am

    The lyrics “Consider Me Gone” by Sting paint a picture that lacks hope. The speaker is talking about how there was rooms of forgiveness, patience and other nice things in the house. “There were rooms of forgiveness In the house that we share” “There were cupboards of patience
    There were shelf-loads of care.” The speaker talks about all these things resided in the house but at a certain point they all moved out. “But the space has been emptied” This implies maybe that love was pleasant for the speaker but as time went on, there came certain things that came and overtook the feelings of positivity.

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  10. Gramoz Bici says:
    October 14, 2019 at 3:25 pm

    In Sting’s song he uses very similar lyrics as Shakespear uses in his poem Sonnet 35. Sting seems to be going through a tough time. “I’ve spent too many years at war with myself”. The speaker of the song is at war with himself and when someone is at war with themselves and can’t believe in their self’s, they are usually sad or/and in a dark place. In both pieces of writing the mood is very similar even though they have different messages they are trying to convey. In both poem and song, they both use very similar poetic devices as one another. They both use paradox, as in “silver fountains mud” and “clouds and eclipses stain both moon and sun”; these paradox’s show how everyone isn’t perfect, and we all do wrong the speaker of the poem as well.

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  11. Will Rolapp says:
    October 14, 2019 at 6:19 pm

    This is an interesting poem/song that gives the audience a dark feeling when reading it. I love the comparisons that he makes with the kitchen appliances and feelings. “There were shelf loads of patience, There were shelf loads of care”. I love the dialogue here because it reveals what used to be. In this home there used to be patience, care, forgiveness, but it has vanished. I love those comparisons the writer makes. In the second stanza the author uses metaphor to express the tone. “Clouds and eclipses stain the moon and the sun and history reeks of the wrongs we have done”.It sounds as if the speaker regrets something that is eating him alive and expresses it through the metaphor of the cloud.

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